The man's fingers trembled as he grabbed the Devil Fruit, his eyes widening in disbelief. For a moment, he couldn't fathom his own luck.
A Devil Fruit—something he had never even dared to dream of possessing in the past—was now in his hands.
A man like him, who had committed all manner of evil, understood all too well what a Devil Fruit meant.
Power.
With this, he could do things he had only imagined, exert his will over others, and amass wealth beyond measure.
Overcome with ecstasy, he burst into wild laughter, his expression twisting with greed. He was too blinded by excitement to notice the fate of those before him who had consumed Devil Fruits under similar circumstances.
At this moment, the man still felt a lingering sense of disbelief.
His gaze landed on Caesar, who stood there indifferently, showing no regret for handing him the fruit.
Suppressing his excitement, the man took a deep breath, then sank his teeth into the Devil Fruit, devouring it hungrily.
The taste was repugnant, worse than anything he had ever eaten, but he forced himself to endure it, unaware that a single bite would have sufficed.
Within three seconds, the fruit was gone—swallowed whole. Then, a wave of nausea hit him, and he retched violently.
But that moment of discomfort was soon overshadowed by something far greater.
A surge of energy coursed through his body, filling him with a newfound sense of power. His limbs trembled—not from fear, but from exhilaration.
Throwing his head back, he let out a maniacal laugh.
"WAHAHAHA! I finally have power! Let's see who in this world dares to look down on me now!"
A strange force pulsed through his body, awakening something inside him. His confidence swelled to arrogance.
He had once ruled comfortably over his little island, making a fortune through illegal dealings.
But then Caesar arrived and shattered that world in an instant.
Anger bubbled inside him, and he couldn't suppress it any longer.
His eyes burned with malice as he turned toward Caesar.
"You bastard! How dare you capture me?!" he spat. "But now… WAHAHAHA! You gave me this power yourself!"
A sinister grin stretched across his face as he touched his chin, his gaze toward Caesar now akin to that of a predator eyeing helpless prey.
This fruit had given him a new kind of confidence. A belief that he was now untouchable.
Caesar, however, remained unfazed. A strange glint flickered in his eyes as he watched the man's delusions unfold.
The fool had no idea.
No idea who Caesar truly was.
No idea how terrifying he could be.
He only knew the stories—the legend of Caesar, a great pirate who had once sailed under a monstrous crew.
Had the man not eaten the fruit, he might have remained obedient, hoping to preserve his life.
But now, it was too late.
The man clenched his fists, feeling the energy surging within him. His body trembled with excitement.
"Huhahahaha! You regret it now, don't you?" he sneered. "I heard you were powerful, but if I defeat you, I take everything, right?"
Caesar remained silent, only watching with mild amusement.
The villain took this silence as fear, his arrogance swelling further.
"What's wrong? Are you so scared that you can't even speak?"
"From today onward, I will be famous across the world! WAHAHAHA!"
Then, as if remembering something, he snapped his fingers and looked at Caesar with chilling eyes.
"And your country… After I defeat you, I'll be its king!"
His laughter echoed through the laboratory, filling the air with his delusions of grandeur.
Caesar, however, remained unimpressed.
He simply shook his head.
A clown.
That's all this man was.
His words meant nothing. His threats were empty.
Soon, his mouth would be shut permanently.
But first, Caesar needed to see something.
He was curious.
What kind of Devil Fruit had this man eaten?
A Logia?
A Mythical Zoan?
Or perhaps a top-tier Paramecia?
"Are you done talking?" Caesar finally spoke, his tone flat.
"Then hurry up and show me what you've got."
The villain's face darkened. His eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
"You'll regret those words, Caesar!"
A silver light suddenly flickered across his body.
Then, something bizarre happened.
Everything around him—stones, debris, even loose objects—lifted into the air and began to revolve around him.
Caesar's eyes sharpened.
Finally, an interesting fruit.
The villain closed his eyes, sensing the power coursing through him. The floating objects spiraled in his orbit, as if he himself had become the center of gravity.
"Is this… gravity?" he whispered to himself, his excitement growing.
He had already known his fruit's name the moment he ate it, but feeling it in action was something else entirely.
Caesar, meanwhile, smirked.
Gravity, huh?
An extraordinary fruit.
A high-level Paramecia, possibly even superior to Fujitora's Zushi Zushi no Mi.
The villain stood tall, looking down at Caesar like an insect.
"Although you brought me here, this Devil Fruit is thanks to you!" he gloated. "Consider it a gift! And in return, I'll grant you a merciful death!"
He stretched out his hand, releasing a surge of gravity.
The ground cracked.
Boulders and debris rose into the air, then shot toward Caesar like bullets.
Yet, Caesar only sighed.
How foolish.
This was the most basic way to use gravity—laughably crude.
To someone like Caesar, this was nothing.
He had seen true masters of Devil Fruit abilities.
And this was not mastery.
It was an amateur playing with power far beyond his comprehension.
There was no longer any reason to entertain this charade.
In a blink, Caesar vanished.
The villain's eyes widened.
"What—?!"
Before he could react, a sharp pain struck his neck.
A precise chop.
His vision blurred.
Then, darkness.
His body went limp as he collapsed, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Caesar stood over him, completely unbothered.
He wasted no time.
Lifting the unconscious man, he carried him into a sealed chamber lined with Seastone.
If he wanted to extract this fruit properly, the user had to die inside this room.
Killing him elsewhere could risk the power escaping and reincarnating into another fruit.
But here, there was no escape.
The villain had thought he had won.
Had thought himself powerful.
Yet, within ten minutes of obtaining his "great power," it was being taken from him.
Caesar looked down at the silver-patterned fruit now in his hand.
Another successful test.
"Finally dealt with another fool," he muttered, smirking.
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